Sports
Ex-Cubs star Sammy Sosa faces ‘roadblock’ to get back into good graces of team, Hall of Famer says
Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire set the summer season of 1998 on hearth with an epic home-run chase that noticed the St. Louis Cardinals slugger finally break Roger Maris’ file for many dingers in a single season with 70 whereas the Chicago Cubs outfielder hit 66.
Sosa would hit 60 or extra residence runs thrice in his profession and gained the Nationwide League MVP in 1998 regardless of not main the league in homers.
Former Cubs participant Ryne Sandberg waves earlier than throwing out a ceremonial first pitch earlier than the Nationwide League Championship Sequence recreation between Los Angeles and Chicago at Wrigley Area on Oct. 18, 2017.
(Jamie Squire/Getty Photographs)
It’s what got here after that tarnished Sosa’s status. Sosa used a corked bat in a recreation in 2003 and was wrapped up in Main League Baseball’s steroids scandal, although he maintained he by no means used “unlawful performance-enhancing medicine” whereas he performed.
Ryne Sandberg spoke briefly about Sosa’s standing with the group. Sandberg will likely be receiving a statue outdoors Wrigley Area in the summertime of 2004. The Corridor of Fame second baseman instructed ESPN he supported the group’s choice to not immortalize Sosa in the identical method.
5-TIME ALL-STAR RETURNING TO TEAM WITH WHICH HE WON MVP: ‘WHERE IT ALL BEGAN’
Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs throughout their 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves in recreation 3 of the NLDS at Wrigley Area.
(Dilip Vishwanat/Sporting Information through Getty Photographs through Getty Photographs)
“For me, taking part in the sport the proper method, with respect, was all the time what I used to be taught within the minor leagues,” Sandberg instructed the outlet. “That was my Corridor of Fame speech. I believe I mentioned it 28 occasions. And there was a bit of downside with the way in which that Sammy performed the sport. If that is a roadblock, that is a roadblock.”
Sosa was on the Baseball Writers Affiliation of America poll for his entry to Cooperstown in 2022 – his tenth and ultimate 12 months on that poll. He acquired 18.5% of the vote. Any potential new inductees want at the least 75% of the vote to get into the Corridor of Fame.
Present Corridor of Famers might find yourself voting Sosa in however he’s not eligible for that till 2024.
Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa strikes out within the fifth inning towards the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Area.
(John Zich/AFP through Getty Photographs)
Sosa performed 18 years within the majors. He hit 609 residence runs with 1,667 RBI.